Electric and hybrid electric vehicles are seen as offering advantages in the reduced use of petroleum and fossil fuels as well as in reduced emissions of green house gases.
“Plug-in” electric vehicles and more conventional hybrid internal combustion and electrically operated vehicles require substantial numbers of rechargeable storage battery packs for chemically storing and providing the required electrical energy to power the electric drive system of the vehicle. Battery packs are typically arranged into electrically additively connected groups as required to provide increased current handling and increased voltage. It is well known that increased current handling capabilities may be provided by electrically connecting battery packs in parallel while a series connection may be utilized to increase available voltage.
The challenges in packaging, interconnecting, controllably discharging and recharging such battery packs are well known. It is desirable to arrange battery packs into a close fit side by side arrangement to minimize the overall size of the battery frame assemblies, reduce space requirement and increase the stored and available energy density of the battery frame assemblies. When battery packs are closely packed together, heat generated by the charging and discharging of the battery packs can accumulate thereby potentially elevating the battery temperature above a safe temperature threshold suitable for operation.
To provide for safe operations and avoid overheating of such groups of battery packs, it is known to provide a temperature measurement device or devices configured to measure the battery temperature. The temperature measurement devices may communicate with a battery controller device configured to compensate for rising battery temperature by adjusting (for example) the flow of coolant or cooling air flow to the batteries and/or acting to reduce the battery charge or discharge amperage rates, thereby acting to prevent thermal damage to the batteries.
Conventionally, the temperature measurement device may be affixed to or secured within the battery pack to be monitored, or alternately the device may be secured to a portion of the battery frame, for example, by an adhesive. Such solutions are often less than optimal as they may often interfere with replacement of a defective battery pack in a battery frame assembly. It is also possible that the temperature sensor device does not remain optimally and correctly positioned relative to the battery pack during its service life, thereby resulting in inaccurate battery temperature detection and resulting in inaccurate battery temperature control.
There remains a need in the art for a temperature sensor mounting arrangement for battery frames of rechargeable battery packs, a solution that enables high speed assembly during frame manufacturing, ensures correct and frame to frame repeatable positioning of the temperature sensor, provides repeatable and reliable temperature measurements from frame to frame, and remains properly positioned when the battery frame is dismantled and then later reassembled, such as when replacement of one or more battery packs is necessary.